Batman: Shinobi Knight
by TheEverfreeBaron
Summary: Batman finds himself in the world of Naruto. He's already a great ninja in his world, so how amazing will he be if he learns how to use jutsu and control chakra? And how will Naruto Uzumaki's growth (as well as that of his friends and allies) be affected by the presence of the Dark Knight? Read to find out. Follows the basic narrative of Naruto Shippuden (with Batman in it).
1. The Arrival

**So, I had this idea for a while, and I decided to post it. This first chapter takes place at the tail end of Part 1, but chapter 2 opens with the beginning arc of Shippuden. What if Batman was a ninja in the world of Naruto? Well, that's what I'm gonna explore. **

**This story should follow cannon fairly well, but I'll definitely mix things up here and there, and you know what that means? No one is safe. Death or injury or ailment can affect ANY character, because this isn't Kishimoto's world; it's mine. **

**I don't own Naruto or Batman or anything from DC Comics.**

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><p>"I'm only gonna ask you one more time," Naruto threatened, fists ready to fight as the sun reflected through his pure blue irises, "who the hell are you?"<p>

Batman remained silent and grim and prepared himself for the attack he knew was coming. He hadn't seen much, but from what he did see, he definitely wasn't in Earth anymore, not the Earth he knew. That, or this kid was something else entirely. The things he could do... run up trees, leap faster than any human, create copies of himself...somehow...he was either superhuman, or Batman was in unknown territory.

Almost before he knew it, several copies of the blonde boy ran forward in a chaotic frenzy and a loud battle cry pierced the air.

The first opponent jumped up and brought his fist down in an overhead strike, but Batman easily stepped aside and kicked the enemy. He burst into smoke and disappeared. There was no time to waste, as two more dashed at him from the left and right, and a third once again came from above.

Batman jumped up and grabbed the airborne attacker, throwing him into the two copies on the ground and breaking all three. Again, almost before he could react several projectiles were thrown his way and the Dark Knight was forced to retreat. Shuriken and knives of some sort. Straightforward and deadly. Many were thrown, but none connected with their target.

Batman expected another attack, but the few enemies that remained on the ground several yards away from him were standing still. Smiling and watching carefully, but not taking action.

Then the familiar smell of smoke and the odd explosives sound came from behind and another version of the boy was behind him, as if he had taken the place of one of the projectiles. Reacting on instinct, Batman grabbed one of the ninja stars from the air and threw it back at the boy, who blocked it with the knife in his hand. He hadn't hurt the boy, but he did force him down to the ground.

Batman wasted no precious second rushing the enemy behind him. He disarmed the unprepared boy in a single second and sprained his wrist the next. The boy cried out in shock at Batman's skill, then in pain at his actions.

The copies were already running at the stranger when Batman made sure the one he had was not a copy as well. He removed a needle from his belt and stuck it into the captive opponent's neck, drawing blood and pushing the boy's body past what the copy's bodies could take, confirming his suspicion.

Before Batman could put the syringe back in it's place, another shuriken came from the side and broke it into many pieces. A girl with pink hair had entered the field and was seemingly coming to aid the boy.

She leaped forward with the copies and attacked in sync with them, forcing Batman to release the real one and once more retreat. He threw down two smoke bombs and vanished while the copies searched and the girl went to aid the real boy.

"Naruto, what happened?" Sakura asked and helped her comrade off the ground.

"I don't know! This funny looking guy appeared almost out of nowhere. I tried getting information out of him, but he wouldn't talk; I think he's after me or something."

"Maybe."

From his spot in the shadows, Batman observed the girl heal the sprained wrist with relative ease and hands that glowed a teal-like color.

"Stay on guard," the girl commented as she peered out into the distance, "Maybe you should send one of your clones to find Kakashi sensei?"

"No way, I can take this guy!" The boy shot back.

"Naruto, use your head. He's already injured you, but how many jutsu has he used? I'm guessing not many."

"Fine, you win, Sakura."

One of the copies, or as they called them, clones, seemingly flickered out of existence. No doubt another power of many these people possessed. He needed to end this quickly and figure things out.

A swift kick to the head of one of the clones made it burst into smoke and the other two followed via Batman's quick and powerful punches to the gut and cheek. Now it was just the original boy, Naruto, and the girl, Sakura.

"Sakura, I'll use the rasengan!"

"Don't shout out the battle plan!" the girl scolded and ran at Batman. To her credit, if she feared him, she didn't show it. Her composure was fearless and stern.

Batman reached into his belt again and grabbed two batarangs. He threw them before he got within 15 yards of the girl, and she evaded them with ease. Or so she thought. By the time they got within 5 yards the batarangs had already reversed and flew back at their owner. The first caught Sakura on the lower leg, throwing her off balance and setting her up for the other to strike her on the back of the head and knock her down and out.

Batman ran past her now unconscious body and towards the boy.

"Sakura!" Naruto called out. Unlike her, he showed emotion. But it was not fear. It was anger. Determination. He had a drive to win. A deep drive.

A blue orb of pure energy, as far as Batman could tell, had amassed in the boy's hand and the two clones he had beside him a moment ago had jumped out to attack as the real one ran out as well.

Batman waited until the clones were almost in his face before he reached into his belt one last time and pressed a button. The clones cried out in pain as waves of electricity shot through their bodies and they dissipated into smoke like the others. The original boy, Naruto, was experiencing the same thing.

When Batman first grabbed a hold of the boy's wrist, he knew it was a golden opportunity and he placed a shock device there, to be used at the opportune moment. That moment was now, and Batman discovered how true that was when the boy fell to the ground and the orb of energy exploded in a violent showcase of immense power. Naruto himself was thrown at least 15 feet in the air by the force and hit the ground with a hard thud. Batman couldn't help but stare in wonder at his fallen opponents.

"You know," a third voice called from behind him, causing Batman's eyes to go wide underneath his cowl, "those are my students."

A new enemy appeared, and he was no child. His silver hair was spiked up and, like Batman, much of his face was covered. His tone was a contrasting mix of intensity and calm.

Batman threw several fists at the man, but he was Batman's physical superior, and dodged or blocked every attack, while Batman was having a hard time doing the same with the man's counterattacks.

The new enemy could also use clones, Batman discovered, when one kicked him from behind and sent him directly into a firm stab from the original. Batman's armor protected him greatly, but even if the wound didn't draw blood, it still hurt.

A precise attack to the neck made Batman's arm go numb and he staggered back as his overwhelming opponent took firm control of the battle.

"Now then," the man coldly spoke as lightning was generated from his hand, "if you give up now, you'll live."

…

"Wake up!" a stern voice called as Batman was struck across the face, snapping him awake.

Several men in masks watched over him while another in a black coat stood in front of him. He had scars on his face that told deep tales.

"Who are you? From what village do you come?" The man demanded.

Batman realized his belt was missing, along with his cape and cowl. His arms were bound behind him in firm shackles and the room was barely lit by a few candles. He had absolutely no idea where he was or how he could get away if the opportunity presented best option was to comply.

"...Gotham…" he answered bitterly.

His answer bought him another hard smack across the face. He spit out blood and looked up into his captor's unamused eyes.

"Where are you from?"

"I'm not from this world. Believe me or not, I can't give you an answer other than that."

The man in the trenchcoat turned his back to Batman and spoke stiffly to him.

"I am Ibiki Morino, the Head of The Leaf Interrogation Force. Right now, I am the one person in this world who can make your life somewhat pleasant, or absolute hell. If I don't get the answer I want, I can always show you what hell looks like. So...one more time. Where are you from?"

Batman didn't bother giving a reply, and within a moment, Ibiki laughed as the silent men in masks observed the process.

In an instant Batman was taken from that scene and plunged into utter darkness. A foreign presence was poking about his mind, he could tell that. The sound of a dripping faucet was the only other thing he could comprehend. He wasn't sure how long he'd been this way, nor how long it would go on, but he was stuck. He could not force his body into motion. His mind was trapped, being probed and scoured, probably from that man Ibiki.

He waited for a long time, or at least, what felt like a long time. Then an immense pain struck his mind and he tried desperately to scream out, but could not. Soon enough, he faded back into unconsciousness.

…

Who are you? What do you want here? Where do you come from? Questions rang through his mind as he awoke once more. He was still in the darkness, but it was even deeper this time. One of the candles must have gone out.

"Here he is," the man called Ibiki told someone by his side as two figures approached him.

Bruce was able to piece together that one of them was a woman. She was tall, blonde, and a powerful atmosphere followed her into the darkness of wherever he was being kept.

"He's a regular mystery, eh?" The woman asked.

"Indeed. I've searched his mind, had it confirmed by Inoichi...he is not from anywhere we know of, or if he is, his powers to conceal information are the best I've ever seen."

She turned directly to Batman and looked down at him with a hint of admiration.

"So, you're the enigmatic enemy who defeated Naruto and Sakura. Impressive, considering we haven't found any indication that you can use jutsu or chakra at all. We're not here to harm you. We only seek answers."

Batman stared her down through a black eye. He pondered how much he should say. How much they would believe. There was no reason to consider what was happening as absolute truth. He hadn't been able to figure out what happened to him before he woke up near the boy Naruto. It could all be an elaborate ruse. But if it gave him a chance to really figure things out...he might as well open up.

"I'm not from this world, I don't believe...I come from a city called Gotham. There, I defend it from criminals and those who would do evil and harm to it and the good people who live there. I don't know what happened to place me here, but before I could figure much of anything out, I was attacked by the boy...Naruto."

"That does sound like our own knuckleheaded ninja…"Tsunade mused.

"You can all do amazing things...jutsu...I believe. I cannot. Where I come from, I am a normal person. I have no powers. I can rely only on my own mind and tools and physical conditioning to stop evil."

Tsunade and Ibiki shared a glance. It seemed they were speaking without using words. Telepathy wouldn't surprise Batman at this point. Few things could.

"We will allow you to stay here, in the Leaf Village, with us if you'd like. You're free to leave and try and find your way back home to...Gotham, but the choice is yours. In fact...if you don't have any plans I might want to test you out. You seem apt at several of the shinobi arts already. If you wish to fight injustice here, too, then I'd be willing to make you a ninja of the Leaf."

"Thank you…" was the only thing Batman could bring himself to say. His shackles were removed, the binding ropes cut. He was given a box with his affects inside and lead out into the sunlit day above the village.

"How long have I been here?" Batman asked.

"Five days," Tsunade answered.

…

By the time one week had rolled around, Batman, back in full costume, had returned to the office of the Hokage. To her surprise, he was able to sneak in unnoticed by her guards and startled her into nearly dropping her cup of sake.

"I've considered your offer," Batman announced.

"Shinobi indeed…" She remarked.

"I want to find my way home...more than anything right now. That city...my past with it is extremely personal...but I also realize that injustice is injustice...and injustice is everywhere. Even here, in these lands. I cannot let innocents die, and the people here, in the Leaf Village, from what I can tell, are innocent. Pure. They deserve protection and the right to happiness. I'll help protect them any way I can as I search for a way home."

Tsunade smiled and set down her cup. She took out a few papers from her drawer and stood up, leading Batman outside.

…

"You...you don't have to do this, please! Please, don't!"

A swift swing of the knife slit the merchant's throat and he fell to the ground as the rain soaked him. A bloodcurdling laugh rang out among the trees. The lone figure stepped back inside the single shop along the dirt path and soon another corpse, this time a young woman, not yet a full adult, was thrown out into the chilling world. The figure walked on as the rain cleaned his knife and the shop raged in a burning inferno in the distant background.


	2. A New Threat

**Hello readers and fans alike. This story seems to be fairly popular, and I'm rather pleased to see this idea is interesting to others out there as well as myself. Well, this chapter is a tad short, and I would have gotten it out sooner, but school work has picked up now that second semester has started. For anyone who's ever had to do a poetry journal...well, you know my pain. I can't promise that these will be out on a weekly basis, as I have several other projects going at the moment, but I'll try. **

**Anyways, the action will really pick up in the next chapter, but this is an important one too. I hope you all enjoy it; remember, I don't own Batman or Naruto. **

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><p>He was all the talk in the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and it was only natural. For two years now, he had been a silent protector. Hardly anyone had seen him, even many other shinobi had never laid eyes on the mysterious "Batman". But he was very real.<p>

The stories told made him out to be the greatest ninja in existence, using stealth to the Nth degree to complete any objective given to him. Some of the wilder tales made Batman out as a living monster who fed on the blood of the enemys he slaid in battle. Either way, he had made a huge impact as an elite member of the ANBU, working alone and taking on missions of great risk, always coming back to the Hokage with a good report...or such was the word around the village.

In order to keep the mystique of the Batman, the Shinobi Knight of Konoha, alive, Lady Tsunade did not confirm or deny his existence to the public. Quite a few villagers disagreed with her choice, but according to his own wishes and the desire to bolster the reputation of the Leaf village, the Batman remained an enigmatic figure; not everyone believed he existed, but no one could deny that someone or something was fighting hard for the village every day.

In truth, however, Batman had made it a point to find a few close allies. Lady Tsunade, being the Hokage, naturally became a close one. He had also gotten to know Jiraiya before he left, and the two kept in contact via letters now and again. The Sannin had a theory or two to offer, having heard and seen many things over his years of traveling the world, about how Batman had ended up in the ninja world, and how he could leave it when the time came. And of course, since it was Kakashi and his students that had first encountered him, Batman kept an eye over them and would reveal himself to them once in a while (more so Kakashi than the esteemed Jonin's students).

After spending several months totally committed to learning the nature of chakra and how to control it, Batman was made an elite inside the ANBU. He was not part of any squad, but again, according to his wishes, he was given assignments to tackle alone. When the situation required it, there were other ANBU members who agreed to back him up and keep his existence a secret.

The rest of his time was spent looking into the great mystery of how he got where he was and how he could get back to the world he knew. He still couldn't remember anything about the night he was pulled away from Gotham, from his very existence as he knew it. He could recall so many things from his past life. His allies, greatest foes, his impact on Gotham City. But he could not remember anything about that fateful night.

With some help from a few individuals who led him in a different direction or two, he was able to make some progress, but he was nowhere near ready to test anything, nor did he have a solid idea of how to get back in the first place. He had grown fond of the Leaf Village, but knowing that Gotham had been without him for two years now pained him greatly inside. It was a raging inner fire that he could never extinguish...not until he made it back to the place of his birth and resumed his mission there.

In all, his existence in the world of Shinobi had become more defined, and he wished he could take some of these powers he had learned to access back with him, but he was almost sure that they would leave him the instant he returned. His natural affinity, in the wild world he had learned to live in, was the element of water. He liked it.

Water was so versatile, flexible but impactful, it could be used for many purposes and had varying degrees of power and speed. In a certain sense, water was what he wanted to embody in his war against evil. He had also begun studying the Wind affinity, and he admired it for the drive it could put behind his water attacks. Wind, too, was a potent element.

Batman was a name feared in the world he knew, in the city that was his. Now, it was a name to be feared in the world of ninja as well.

…

Two figures, garbed in cloaks of black, decorated with red clouds, walked quietly through the desert wastes near the Sand Village. One was tall, and blonde hair waved in the hot wind under a large hat that concealed the figure's face. The other cloaked person was much short, barely half the height of the blonde individual, and he seemed to lunge along with some difficulty.

"I hope you have a plan to capture the One-Tails," the smaller figure spoke out in a deep and menacing voice.

"Relax, Sasori, my man. I'll take care of everything," came the casual reply.

"I don't have to remind you that I'm not the only waiting on you, do I? Someone else in the organization already captured the Five-Tails; we'll be sealing both the biju at the same time. The clock is already ticking for us."

"Did we ever figure out who captured the Five-Tails?"

"The Leader didn't say...most of us aren't sure what Biju we're going after yet anyways. It could have been a complete accident that they met."

"Hmm."

"He and his partner will meet us at the Hideout. Just make sure you get in and out quickly. I really don't need you to drag things on."

"Will you calm down, I know what I'm doing," The blonde scolded.

They walked on, once more in silence, as the outline of the Sand Village began to appear in the haze of the desert distance.

…

Three shadows jumped along the treeline of the quiet forest, moving as a part of the night. They were hurried shadows, and they hustled along at a steady pace, relentlessly traversing deeper into the darkness before them. The full moon above the tree tops was the only source of light, and it did not reveal much.

A fair distance away from the three figures, though declining with every second as the pursuers continued on, was a lone figure, tired and slowing down. At last it stopped on a branch and kneeled down, unable to go on. Less than a minute later the pursuers caught up to the lone man.

"I've got him," One of the three remarked and flickered behind the runaway, grasping both of his arms tightly above his drooping head.

"No!" The second of three warned, but she was too late.

An explosion decimated the branch and instantly killed the ANBU member, throwing him to the ground violently, corpse still smoking. Beside him fell charred bits of a smoking log.

The renegade loner wasted no time in cementing his advantage as a volley of kunai knives were hurled at the two other ANBU. Neither was hurt, but the distraction allowed the runaway to resume his getaway.

The second figure jumped back at the realization that one of the many kunai had a paper bomb attached to it, but the third leaped ahead and ignored the danger, and was burned mildly by the blast as a result; he did not give up and chased after the loner, his partner not far behind him.

"You alright?" She asked loudly. No point in keeping quiet now that their target knew they were right behind him, after all.

"I'll make it," came the reply.

"If you want, you can dispose of Shiryo's corpse," the woman offered.

"Not a chance. He's mine."

"The stories are wrong; you're a real pleasant guy," she replied with a sarcasm laced quip.

Batman gave no answer to the comment.

The target looked back to check on his pursuers, and gave a noticeably irked expression upon discovering that they were once again catching up to him. The runaway lunged forward with as much speed as he could muster and turned midair, his hands weaving various signals.

"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bullet!"

Batman was already forming the seals and his partner had jumped down to the ground to evade the repelling attack.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet," the female ANBU commented to herself as she attempted to get behind their target.

The barrage of small but agile and deadly fire blasts were met with a large dragon of water, gushing out and consuming the flames. Fire was superior to water, but not when the water jutsu was backed with enough chakra and force. Perhaps if the fleeing man wasn't as fatigued as he was the outcome would have been different, but Batman took every opportunity he could get. This world was, hard enough to believe, more touch and go than Gotham was...at least in some ways.

A large cloud of steam, the outcome of the clashing jutsu, enveloped the area and the running man hurried off again as best he could. He threw down a few trap wires, hoping to stall his pursuers, but as soon as he jumped out of the steam, a swift kick knocked him to the ground and the female ANBU jumped down beside him a second later.

Her target was quick to recover, but his heavy panting betrayed his condition. He was close to dropping in fatigue. Still, he was extremely dangerous until then, and she was quick to pull out a kunai knife as he did the same after rolling backwards and onto his feet.

They sprinted at each other, kunai clashing with loud clangs and shrieks. Her stamina and skills were far in advance of his, but his deception far outweighed her ability to react, and the next time they locked blades he threw a small pellet at her. It exploded on impact and surrounded her in a small vortex of black smoke, and she almost instantly dropped to her knees. He lunged forward to ram his kunai through her face, protected only by the ANBU mask, but just as the tip of the blade made contact with the mask, a firm hand grabbed him from behind.

A single, small crack appeared on the beak of the bird mask as the target's entire arm went numb and his leg was broken. He tried to scream out in pain, but before he could, Batman's hand was around his mouth and he was thrown onto the floor, the kunai flying away from his hand. A couple seconds later, Batman's foot was pressed firmly onto the side of the target's head.

"Where did you come from?" Batman demanded as his partner regained her bearings, panting just as heavily as the target had been a moment ago.

"W-What?" The man asked in horror.

"Where is Shiawasena's base?"

"I don't know...Shiawasena uses a different meeting place every time he summons me," he cried out briefly as Batman applied more pressure, "I've never even seen him before!"

"You thugs spout the same story every time I capture one of you," Batman deadpanned, "Unless you want a fate worse than death, I suggest you talk to me."

"I don't know anymore than that!"

"What where you doing before we began pursuing you?"

"I was dropping off the shipment," the target weeped as his hand stretched slowly forward.

Batman threw a shuriken, his own variation based off of his batarangs, into the man's hand and stopped it in place. The target flinched again and hit bit his lip as Batman knelt down closer to him.

"Give it to me."

The order was met with sincere cooperation as the man's eyes gestured into the sleeve of his numb arm beside him. The large coat he was wearing, with sleeves longer than his arms were, was torn off, revealing the man's chest and back, complete with various burns, scars, and other wounds. A few were fresh.

Batman pulled out a single box, no larger than that with which a man might propose to his girlfriend with. It was locked and sealed.

"How do I open it?"

"I wish I knew...Shiawasena hasn't revealed the secret of unlocking his shipments to anyone except his most trusted allies. I can't even give you the names of them!"

"You don't know who was going to collect this box?"

"Not a clue! I swear!"

The female ANBU had turned around and stepped away, puking into a nearby bush and resting against the tree. Batman stared down at the helpless criminal underneath his foot. Waiting.

"What about that smoke bomb, what was in that?"

"I don't-"

"Know," Batman finished, "tell me something I don't know that you do. Or else."

The criminal began stuttering, panicking at the thought of having Batman do any more harm to him, but he was able to squeal out something before Batman applied hurt him any further, "The name! The name of Shiawasena's organization!"

"What is it?"

"T...Tanoshi!"

"Anything else?"

"I don't know, I'm not that high up! I'd tell you more if I could, but Shiawasena is a hard man to impress. Getting high up with him is difficult, not to mention dangerous! Most of his recruits don't last more than a week or two!"

"Then we're done here," Batman replied as he stomped on the man's face, knocking him out and breaking his nose.

"Shiawasena...Tanoshi…" The female ANBU mumbled aloud.

"We're dealing with more than we originally thought," Batman admitted.

"What was our original thought?" she asked him as she stood back up, "The Hokage merely told us you'd stumbled onto a criminal ring."

"I thought it was black-market operations, simple illegal activity. But the secrecy, the enigma behind it all...whoever Shiawasena is, he has big plans, I'm sure of it. I don't see any reason for him to specifically target The Leaf, not yet anyways. But it could happen. We need to investigate further, find more leads."

"Well, first things first," she commented, pointing down to the criminal.

"We'll see if Ibiki can get anything else out of him," Batman said simply and walked towards the unconscious target.

"I imagine so," his partner returned.

"I'll take him."

"Then I'll get Shiryo's body," she agreed, then added with the slightest of hesitations, "By the way...that was excellent work. Thanks for saving me."

Batman nodded in reply and silently picked up the bleeding, broken man and leaped off into the night with his partner, and silence once again struck the woods.

…

"That makes four, if I'm not mistaken," Tsunade said as she skimmed through the mission report in her right hand.

"Yes."

"I see…" She trailed off and picked up a cup with her left hand, taking a big gulp of the drink before setting down the empty cup on her desk.

"This is concerning. Ibiki can probably get a bit more out of the captured criminal, but this package...it's an incredibly tough seal. It'll take at least a day or two to crack open. Even I may have to get my hands dirty in this ordeal," Tsunade informed, the report now lying flat on the desk and her hands collected on the tip of her chin.

"I have a couple of ideas concerning new leads, but it'll take some time. I can't say when I'll be back."

"This issue does concern me...but not as much as another issue that's arisen."

"And what's that?" Batman inquired as the evening sky glimmered through the Hokage office windows.

"Gaara of the Sand, the Fifth and reigning Kazekage, has been abducted by the criminal organization Akatsuki."

Batman's teeth gritted together slightly more as Tsunade went on.

"We believe they plan to kill him and seal the Biju inside of him to use for their own purposes later on. I've already sent out a team, but I think they might be in over their heads. I need you to go and back them up before you return to investigating Tanoshi and Shiawasena."

A small pause ensued and Batman seemed to stare off into the space beyond Tsunade, or at least she thought he was. It was hard to determine what he was thinking, especially with that cowl on. She wondered if he would refuse her.

"Alright."

"I sent Team Kakashi to the Sand village. They have several hours on you. You'd better leave as soon as possible."

"Understood…"

He waited for her nod of approval before he left, silently and quickly.

Naruto was back in the village. It had been years since last they saw each other. He wondered how much the blonde boy had grown. Watching Naruto's friends and allies grow only made him more curious as to the work he had done with Jiraiya.

Batman returned hastily to his living quarters, a small, private chamber in the same stone wall where the Hokage faces watched over the village. The single candle he'd left ablaze the previous night was almost gone and burning away slowly. He gathered his gear, replaced the tools he'd used, and retrieved a wireless headset and a map. After also grabbing a roll of bandages and a small vial of ointment, he left his "lair".

Then he was off, flying through the dark forest again. He didn't plan on stopping anytime soon, but there were definitely nights when he missed the Batmobile; but the Batman never rested, not in body or spirit. He was always ready to punish criminals who forsook justice.

…

Far away, in a secret location, ten figures assembled. They stood on the fingers two giant hands, reaching upwards as if holding the key to human salvation. Six of them were holograms, representations of ninja that were not there. Four stood there in the flesh, concentrating on the task at hand, as if the holograms were puppets following their deeds.

"Keep in mind," one of the holograms voiced, "this will take three days and nights. To seal two Jinchuuriki at the same time, though...it will be an unstable process."

"Then let's get to it," the same short figure replied in a hasty tone.

"Indeed." The same hologram replied.

The two bodies floated up into the air as a field of blue energy came out of the mouth of the giant head in front of the hands. The bodies were lifted up and held in place as the energies of the tailed beasts inside them were extracted, slowly killing them.

Great laughter rang out as the Jinchuuriki were slowly killed.


	3. Confrontation: Akatsuki

**Welcome back to this story, and the third chapter. As promised, things are really heating up this time and there's more to come in the next chapter too. I enjoyed writing in the characters that you'll soon see interacting with our hero, and some of them will be back next time. **

**I'd like to point out that this story only loosely follows canon, and I simply can't show every fight that the series does, especially since the main focus is Batman. Still, there's quite a few epic battles and giggles to be had.**

**On that note, here's an extra disclaimer: I'm not the most adept writer when it comes to certain characters, and one such favorite of mine makes his official debut in this chapter. I will do my best to portray him faithfully and as in-character as I can. But no promises. **

**Please enjoy with the solemn and regular reminder that I do not own Naruto or anything from DC Comics (but I will gladly accept any and all reviews). **

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><p>He was closing in on Team Kakashi, yet something didn't feel right. They had stopped, but not because they were tired. He tried getting in contact via the wireless radio system, but Kakashi's wasn't on. He grabbed a food pill from his belt and hurried on.<p>

…

"Naruto! Are you Alright?" Kakashi called out as he slid backwards.

"Wh-What happened...to me?" Naruto asked in confusion, seemingly awakening from a dream.

Sakura and Lady Chiyo were by his side. In front of them all was Sasuke's older brother: Itachi Uchiha.

"You were caught in a genjutsu," Sakura informed him, her hand still pressed firmly on his shoulder.

Naruto seemed disappointed at the news, pondering how it could have happened as the reality of his situation came back to him.

"I'm afraid he's not using any genjutsu," the elder lady to his other side said grimly.

"No," a new voice affirmed from behind the scenes, "he's a user of the Sharingan."

Batman flew out of the treeline and landed behind Naruto and the girls. He approached them slowly as Itachi began analyzing his new foe.

"Batman?" Naruto uttered as Sakura looked shocked. Kakashi dared not take his eyes off of Itachi, but he made an approving sigh. Chiyo looked more intrigued than anything else. The Leaf held many spectacular ninja, but even she wasn't sure if the Batman was one of them.

"A new contender…" Itachi mused to himself as he stood like a statue, arms by his side and head looking directly forward.

"What're you doing here?" Sakura asked as Batman moved beyond the three and stopped halfway to Kakashi.

"The Hokage sent me as aid. Looks like I got here just in time."

"You can say that again...he's skilled. He's probably the toughest opponent I've ever faced," Kakashi greeted.

"Then you, me, and Naruto will have to gang up on him."

Naruto flashed a confident grin and stepped forward. He fastened his headband around his head as Kakashi informed Batman about their enemy.

"Look into his eyes and it'll be over for you. He's a master of genjutsu, but be wary of his taijutsu and ninjutsu skills. He's also extremely clever. All said and done, he's pretty tough in every respect."

Sakura and Chiyo steeled themselves, and in the blink of an eye Naruto, Kakashi, and Batman charged forward at their Akatsuki opponent. Itachi produced a shadow clone and sent in running in opposition of his three attackers.

Kakashi hurled several kunai at the clone, but it blocked every one with incredible speed. The real Itachi let no single second go to waste and fired off several blasts of fire with the Phoenix Flower Jutsu, and multiple speeding bullets of flame honed in on the three Konoha shinobi.

Batman and Kakashi shared a quick glance and combined their Water Style: Water Wall jutsus to block out the flames. As the water wall came down the Itachi clone lunged forward and sent a quick, devastating kick into Batman, who barely got his arm up in time to block and negate some of the damage.

Naruto jumped overhead and brought his fist down on the clone, who disappeared in a plume of smoke. They hurried on without hesitation and continued their rush attack, Kakashi leading the charge.

Itachi remained in place, but summoned a swarm of crows and sent them as the next wave of opposition. Batman and Kakashi were able to avoid most of the attacks, but Naruto was having trouble keeping up. Batman pushed on, and Kakashi grabbed a hold of Naruto and took them both underground with his Earth Style jutsu, and the swarm of crows disappeared into smoke.

By the time Batman was within 20 feet of Itachi, the Akatsuki member still did not look worried. Batman began forming seals, but stopped when he realized what had been done.

"Kakashi!"

An explosion from underground rocketed both Naruto and Kakashi into the air. Naruto's arm was burned badly and they were both knocked high into the air, then hardly landed on the ground.

Sakura arrived to aid her sensei and fellow pupil, and with Chiyo, took them both a bit further away from where Batman was now facing Itachi, alone.

"What happened?" Naruto asked and gritted his teeth while Sakura healed his arm.

"Itachi's clone," Kakashi revealed as he recovered from the blast, "he planted explosive tags in the ground while we were running at him. I didn't notice until it was too late. I'm sorry, Naruto."

"It looks like we may have to get our hands dirty, Sakura," Chiyo noted as Itachi sent a barrage of shuriken at Batman, who has having a hard time avoiding them as he got closer and closer.

At last Batman got within striking distance of his Uchiha foe, but true to Kakashi's words, Itachi was a more than capable combatant. A fast knee dashed up towards Batman's face, only for the Dark Knight to catch it. From the sleeve of the Akatsuki cloak came the edge of a kunai blade that forced Batman to dash backwards.

Another clone was already on the attack from behind as Batman moved to the side, in order to get both his opponents in front of him. Relying on tried and true tactics, Batman let go of two smoke bombs and hoped he had enough time to set up his edge.

He formed seals and used the Water Syrup Trap jutsu, just finishing as one of the cloaked men swung a kick from behind; Batman leaped up and back-flipped over his enemy, placing a tag on the opponent's shoulder as he did so.

He landed onto the other Itachi's fist and he was sent backwards, rolling to a stop a few feet away. It was imperative that he reach the Syrup Trap, but his enemies weren't giving him an inch. He activated the tag and the clone exploded, but the real Itachi didn't seem to notice.

Having gotten to his feet, Batman armed himself with two "bat-shuriken" as the smoke at last disappeared.

Itachi dashed forward so quickly Bruce barely saw him and a second later, Itachi was lifting himself up on Batman's shoulder, avoiding the reactionary swing of the kunai. Itachi landed behind Batman, a firm grip still on Bruce's shoulder, and he threw the caped vigilante backwards with surprising force.

A small trail of blood leaked from Batman's lower lip as a war cry penetrated the air.

"CHA!"

A small crater opened up as Sakura's fist struck the ground where Itachi was standing a moment ago.

"What happened to Kakashi and Naruto?" Batman called out as Sakura turned to attack the ever calm Itachi once again.

"Lady Chiyo is treating Naruto's arm!" She called back and brought down a devastating kick, which though it held more force than her initial strike, also missed.

"And Kakashi?" Batman asked as he flickered in front of Itachi and delivered several punches, all of which were blocked or avoided; Itachi bent down and swept his leg forward, causing Batman to jump up, and then Itachi dashed back, gaining a bit more distance between the two attackers and himself.

Itachi unleashed the Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu before Sakura could reply, forcing the two to dodge the massive orb of flames that sped their way. Seizing the opportunity, Sakura jumped forward with another attack, only for Itachi to continue dashing backwards.

Batman realized too late what Itachi's plan was, and the next time Sakura went to attack she got herself caught in the Syrup Trap; Itachi had recognized it through the smoke, thanks to Sharingan, and had been waiting to exploit it when Batman's allies returned to the fight. He should have let Sakura know.

Itachi's feet glowed with chakra as he ran forward, kunai again poking out of the long sleeve, aimed at Sakura's heart. Batman had no alternative, and he went out on a limb with an idea he wasn't sure would work.

The kunai blade was directly in front of Sakura's chest when the Syrup Trap around the two morphed upwards in a ball and caught Itachi's entire hand; the Akatsuki member seemed extremely shocked as he attempted in vain to retrieve his hand from the orb of adhesive liquid.

"Great timing!" Kakashi called as he lunged at the Trap, his hand lit ablaze with the lightning blade. He struck the trap with it as Itachi jumped up and forced his hand out of the syrup.

He did not avoid the lightning entirely, and he was shaken and unable to properly evade as Naruto struck from the air in front of Itachi's retreating figure.

"Rasengan!"

The spiraling blue orb hit its mark and Itachi's chest had a hole blown right through it, blood exploding out onto Naruto and tainting the syrup below it. Oddly, it seemed Itachi smiled through bloody lips as Naruto's entire arm, the very same one which had been burned and treated a moment ago, powered through Itachi's body.

The corpse hit the syrup with a splash as the clear-bluish liquid turned a vial purple. They were shocked to see that, rather than the Uchiha Prodigy, it was an unknown man wearing the Akatsuki garb.

Chiyo gasped when she laid eyes on the dead man, "Yura?"

"You know him?" Kakashi questioned as the elderly lady stepped towards the rest of the group.

"He's a member of the Sand Council, someone that worked closely with Gaara every day," Chiyo answered, eyes looking down sad and confused.

"I've never encountered a jutsu like this," Kakashi noted as they took a minute to mull over the odd situation.

"This is a pretty deep jutsu," Batman explained looking at the body and checking the various wounds, "considering how the puppet could use signature and key moves. If you weren't fooled," he said, turning towards Kakashi, "then this jutsu is one of the deadliest I've ever heard of."

"Yeah, that was bizarre," Naruto added his two cents, "I could have sworn I was actually facing him…"

Batman recognized the conflict within Naruto. Proving one's strength or capabilities to others was sometimes easier than proving them to yourself. He'd heard of the time Itachi encountered Naruto and his friend Sasuke a couple years back. He understood Naruto's feelings more than anyone else there. They set off again in silence, but Naruto, it seemed, was the quietest of them all.

…

"It's over," Itachi commented to his peers as he returned focus to the sealing process.

"I just finished myself," Kisame added.

"At first I only faced four, but soon afterwards a fifth shinobi came to their aid," Itachi explained.

"Anyone we should be concerned about?" Their leader inquired.

"I did not recognize him, but he was skilled. He might be a problem yet."

"Oh well; that body double wasn't near your full strength, and besides, we'll be done in a few more minutes."

"It was rather fun to play around with them for a bit," Kisame said, "I envy you four. You get the real deal."

"I'm no fighter," Zetsu commented, clearly a bit annoyed with the idea of running into opposition.

"You'll be fine. With the four of you here, I trust you'll be able to put down any trouble," their leader affirmed.

…

"It's a Five-Seal Barrier," Chiyo explained as the two groups merged at the base of the river that ran along the Sand-Leaf border in that area.

"That's a tough security measure to crack," Kakashi commented.

"What do we have to do?" Guy asked, obviously unaware of such a thing's existence before now.

"There are, as the name suggests, five seals somewhere in the area. We must remove all five seals-at the same time," Chiyo answered.

"Nonsense," Guy replied with enthusiasm, "I'll just bust it open!"

"That is the Guy-sensei I love and know!" Lee cheered; Neji and Tenten tried to look the other way at their master's antics.

"It would be wiser to-" Batman was cut off as Guy prepared himself, starting a cry of determination that gradually raised in volume and intensity.

"Dynamic Entry!" Guy screamed.

He lunged forward with intense speed and strength. The instant his foot touched the wall, he was repelled and thrown away, rolling ungracefully backwards; he finally stopped only when his head hit a large rock near the river's bank, cracking it slightly.

"Guy-sensei!" Lee called and rushed to his master's side.

Kakashi looked particularly annoyed at his rival's actions, but the most annoyed were, once again, Neji and Tenten. Naruto seemed a bit let down too, clearly expecting more from "Bushy Brow Sensei" than had been shown.

"That all changed when the rock barrier rumbled and slowly raised.

Lee and Guy gasped. The others looked on in amazement. Guy slowly pulled himself up and began jumping up and down and posing triumphantly.

"Yes! The Noble Blue Beast strikes again! Feel the power of youth, _foolish rock_!"

When the entrance was fully revealed, four figures stepped out into the light of day. To the far right was a humanoid-plant, it seemed, with two distinct faces. In the far left was the short figure, and beside him, his taller, blonde partner, who was notably missing an arm now. The last spot was filled by a man who made Batman's eyes go wider than they'd gone since he was eight years old.

"Baby!" Joker called out in relief and extreme glee, "I've missed you so!"

There was no mistaking it. The Clown Prince of Crime had made it to this world as well. The only upside was that Gotham was spared of his cruel evil; now, however, the ninja world was in danger of his malevolent nature and unpredictable power.

Batman's most dangerous foe was dressed in an Akatsuki cloak, seemingly having abandoned his purple suit. His hands were bare as well, revealing his pitch-black fingernails. Other than that, he hadn't changed at all. Same malicious smile, same offsetting green hair, same deep eyes of pure evil. And yet, in this rare instance, his eyes held more than evil. His eyes were filled with an evil love.

"You know him?" Deidara asked as The Joker opened out his arms, as if silently calling the Batman to come and embrace him.

"Know him? Me and Batsy go way back. I've kicked his ass, he's kicked mine; we've had some real laughs together!"

"What's his story?" Kakashi quietly asked Batman as the Dark Knight tensed up.

"He's bad news. I'll take him, alone, if possible."

"We can help," Naruto encouraged, hand curled into a tight fist.

"There's no reason for you to get in the way," Batman scolded, "you don't know him. You have no idea the depth of his madness."

"Flattery will get you everywhere-but not after two years of no calls and no letters!" Joker quipped.

"But-" Naruto's protest was cut short by Kakashi's silent arm, raised up and blocking Naruto from advancing forward.

"He can take care of himself," Kakashi ordered, "but if you do need help," he told Batman, "ask."

Batman nodded and stepped forward, as did Joker. They said nothing to each other, and no one felt the need to interrupt their reunion. In the end, some evil could not be vanquished.

"Since I know you could use a hand," Joker said, turning to Deidara, who cursed the clown under his breath for the joke, "how about I take a couple of them down right now?"

"Let's get this over with," Sasori demanded.

"I won't be much help here. I have an appointment to keep anyways," Zetsu told his comrades as he disappeared into the ground, retreating before the battle broke out.

"Ready?" Joker asked with a kunai in hand, glistening in the sunlight, "No? Then it sucks to be you!"

Joker was almost as fast as Itachi, maybe just as fast. He dashed forward and ran his knife through Chiyo's stomach violently. She didn't have time to react, and cried out in immense shock and pain as the blade tore through her organs. Kakashi and Batman both dashed at Joker, but he was gone again as they got to Chiyo.

Sakura laid the Sand Elder down and began treating her immediately as Lee stood guard. Joker moved on to Neji next. The Hyuuga clansman was able to block the attack, however narrowly, and he sent a chakra charged palm into Joker's chest, throwing the villain back near his fellow Akatsuki.

"Good job," Deidara mocked. Joker frowned and looked a bit agitated as he picked himself up.

"Fine, we'll do things differently," Joker conceded amid brushing the dirt off his cloak.

"It's over!" Batman promised as he threw several bat-shuriken at his old nemesis, who easily dodged them and rushed towards the group again.

He got in Batman's face, the hero preparing to strike Joker with enough force to shatter rock and take him out the fight for good, but within a fraction of a second, Joker was gone again. His speed was always a problem, but with chakra enhanced speed, The Joker was nigh impossible to catch.

He flickered back into existence behind Neji, Tenten, and Guy, laughing menacingly as they all went wide-eyed and fell into his attack.

...

The rescuers were sent to a plane of darkness and silence. It didn't last long, though, as fireworks went off in the distance. Underneath them, the floor shook and confetti popped into existence all around them.

"Lady and Gentleman-and whatever you are, with the awful hair!" Joker's voice announced, ringing in the air, "welcome to The Joker's Funhouse, version two!"

The three shinobi formed a circle with their backs and watched as tokens from some horrendous nightmare began springing out of the shadows: balloons with smiling faces, gesturing mannequins, odd gases, strange, neon colors, voracious laughing, and furnaces emitting blazing fires.

"I guarantee you'll have a smile on your face by the end of your experience...of course you'll also be dead, but at least you get to go out laughing, eh?"

Smoke whirled into the shape of a man, and a version of The Joker, this time in a purple suit and trousers, stood with hands locked behind his back, watching the visitors with a steady smile on his face.

"This is genjutsu...very, very strange genjutsu," Neji confided in his teammates.

"Can you break us free Neji?" Tenten inquired as The Joker began walking towards them amid the madness of his own design.

"I'm not-"

"Nope," Joker answered in his stead, "Sorry, this is a one-way only funfair. You come in, and you never leave."

Guy charged a powerful fist strike, but upon contact, the Joker figure reverted into mist and idled along the path Guy had sent it. A few seconds later, it reformed itself into the clown once again.

Guy tried again and again, and Tenten looked on with shame, "Doesn't he know he can't win like that?"

"Who cares, he's buying time," Neji commented as he concentrated on the genjutsu.

Finally, Joker got tired of Guy's fierce fury, and summoned a furnace under his feet, singing the taijutsu master's legs and throwing him back in pain. He tried crawling away, but Joker soon flipped Guy over with his foot and revealed a blade that descended from the back of the sole.

Tenten dashed forward to save her master, but another incarnation of Joker flashed up and caught her, arresting her by the wrists and holding her back, as she watched on helplessly.

"Neji!" She called out after a short struggle.

The Hyuuga looked ready to fight off the Joker's presence, but suddenly, he grabbed his head and fell to the floor, crying out for a moment before falling utterly silent.

"And here I thought I told you-no one leaves _my_ funfair."

Neji's figure, now curled into a fetal position, shook and quaked as Joker began speaking to Guy, who could not find it within himself to move, "As for you, I'm afraid you've left this poor girl all alone. Don't worry though, we've a generous severance package," he taunted as a smile formed, lowering the knife a bit and steadying his aim over Guy's determined face, "as you'll both soon see."

Guy did not cry out, but a steady trail of blood flowing from his head was all Tenten could bear to see as tears fell from her face and she stopped resisting Joker's double.

Joker's gloved hand touched her cheeks lightly as his first form stood in front of her, "There, there. You'll be dead too in just a moment. First, though, I've got a favor. I've lost count of how many thousands of people I've killed over the years. Think you could send back a note?"

Tenten shuddered at the thought and whimpered as the Joker ran his fingers along her cheeks and chin delicately, "No. I suppose I not. I guess I'll just have to start all over. And you'll make three!"

Joker's blade slashed through her neck swiftly, but not at all painlessly, and she fell as Joker began laughing energetically.

…

Back in the real world, Batman hurried towards his old enemy as Neji, Guy, and Tenten dropped silently and limply to the ground. Batman ran past them as Joker retreated in a bit of a panic.

Batman cursed his foe in a growl and rushed forward with all he could muster while the pale faced Akatsuki member called out insults, dashing into the treeline, "Do you know that even in a foreign country you're dressed like a weirdo? Keep away from me, you flying freak! Rape! Rape!"

The two were finally gone as Lee rushed over to the rest of his squad. Sakura had finished healing Chiyo, but she was hunched over and clutching her stomach weakly.

"Sakura, how are they?"

"They were in a genjutsu," she informed them, "I don't know who that...Joker guy..is, but he's strong. He made them think they actually died. They're bodies are rapidly shutting down!"

"Can you save them?" Naruto asked with worry as Lee stood gasping.

"Yeah, I have a few medicines that will help them," Sakura assured as she opened her ninja pouch up.

"If you're quite done," Sasori interrupted, "I'd like to get this over with."

"I'll take the Nine-Tails," Deidara said with a cocky edge to his voice.

"You already got the One-Tails," Sasori scolded, "and you lost a limb in that fight. Do you really think you can survive another battle like that?"

"Just watch the explosions from a safe distance."

"Very well. Get yourself killed and I get a new partner anyways; it's a win-win for me."

"Hey!" Naruto broke up their conversation, barely controlling himself, "where's Gaara?"

Deidara smirked and Sasori let out a brief chuckle.

"Here's the plan," Kakashi whispered to his remaining allies, "Naruto and I will lure off the blonde. Sakura, you and Lee, and if you're up to it, Lady Chiyo, will have to take out the third one."

"Agreed," Chiyo weakly said from the sidelines as everyone's face became more determined.


	4. Like Old Times

**My apologies to the readers and fans of this story; schoolwork was brutal this past week and I've been putting hours into my other fics too, across the many places where I post stories. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and while I can't promise when the next one will be out, as usual, I can tell you it will get here, sooner or later. **

**I also want to remind you guys that this is a story about Batman first and foremost, thus some fights and/or content from the Naruto storyline will be trimmed and/or cut out cough cough Sasori fight cough ...**

**I still don't own either of these properties. **

* * *

><p>"Sakura," Lee asked with a shaken voice, "will they be okay?"<p>

His eyes never left the prone form of his master, and Sakura smiled in reply, patting Lee's shoulder gently, "I've treated them. They'll regain consciousness within a few hours. It was a good thing I was here; if left untreated, they'd have been dead in minutes."

'_Genjutsu can be that powerful?'_ Lee questioned inside his mind.

"They'll be fine," Chiyo said, not facing the others, but at Sasori, "and we will too...as soon as we deal with him."

…

Deidara flew over the green landscape with a wide river flowing through. Two figures chased him down from the riverside, closely following him wherever he went. He smirked atop his clay bird, preparing himself, as they were doing. His art was much harder to perform with only one hand, but he wasn't hinder enough to fail.

From below, Naruto muttered curses as the whiskers on his cheeks became more defined and his teeth began to show signs of morphing. He was spurred on by the thought of Gaara's fate as Deidara's words rang through his head.

~Flashback~

"Where's Gaara?" Kakashi asked Deidara and Sasori with a firm voice and a hand inside his ninja pouch.

"That deadbeat loser from the Sand?" Deidara mocked, "we killed him."

Naruto shook with rage and his fists curled up so tightly he was almost bleeding. Kakashi put his free hand on Naruto's shoulder. Deidara sensed the discord he was creating and pushed on.

"He wasn't too tough. Maimed my arm well enough, the bastard. Still, he's dead. Rotting in hell. And here I am, walking alive and well."

"Except for that arm," Sasori cut in, much to his partner's silent chagrin.

"And eye for an eye," Kakashi quoted the old adage with a dangerous tone, "eh, Naruto?"

"Right!"

"Tch," Deidara spat and unleashed his clay bird, hopping atop it and flying upwards as Kakashi and Naruto went in pursuit, leaving the remaining three conscious team members to handle the last of the three Akatsuki.

~End Flashback~

"Okay Naruto, I've got a special jutsu prepared for him, but we'll have to keep our distance until I'm ready," Kakashi instructed.

"And when will that be?" Naruto asked in a voice filled with pulsing energy.

"Hey, I'm not exactly a young sprite like you, just a few minutes and we'll be ready to move."

Naruto nodded in approval and increased his pace slightly, eager to catch the man that had killed his friend from the Sand Village. He hadn't looked down at them in a while. He was almost ready to make his move, too.

…

A ways away, Joker had finally stopped his retreat, and he faced down his only equal, his only other Gothamite in this world, and the only person he loved; Batman did not look happy at all. His scowl was deeper, more fueled than Joker had seen in a long time. It made him laugh.

They started their dance in the usual way. Batman charged forward in a show of brutality and physical depth. Joker sprang his trap, in this case, he threw several kunai at his partner, with tags wrapped around the slender bases. Batman avoided them all but one, which he grabbed from midair and threw back.

As soon as it left his hand, though, the tag went off and a cloud of gas shot into the air. He dashed out of the blue mist and dropped to his knees. His vision shook, his ears rang, and hands tremored involuntarily.

Joker looked on with a coy smile and threw one last kunai into the side of Batman's head, and a water clone dissipated into the river. The next instant, Batman lunged up out of the water and grabbed Joker's throat with a hulking hand. Joker tripped himself and he rolled back onto the river; he tried to kick Batman away, but was unsuccessful and Batman was able to hold Joker down.

"Did this world...teach you how to kill?" Joker asked with intrigue.

"I'm not a killer. Not in Gotham, not here. You won't be killed by my hand. Ever."

Joker did his best to laugh at the hilarity behind that statement and squirmed to get free as he responded, "We'll see."

"I'm taking you back to the Leaf Village. The Hokage will do with you as she sees fit."

"So you _have_ become one of those tree-hippies! I tell you, it took me a while to see how I fit in around here."

"The only place you'll ever fit in is Arkham," Batman dismissed.

"Yeah, I know. That's why I've decided to kill everyone instead," Joker answered with another attempted laugh, and Batman eased the hold a bit to allow his enemy to breath.

"We're done here," Batman decided and brought a strong fist into The Joker's face, knocking him out.

As Batman picked up the skinny figure hidden within the cloak, he saw a small pellet drop and another cloud of blue gas exploded into the air. This pellet's radius spread farther and wider than the last one, and Batman jumped up to the cliffside to avoid being affected, dropping The Joker in the process.

He jumped up to the bank high above the river and performed a water jutsu to wash away the gas. The Joker had already jumped up to the opposite bank, his earlier unconsciousness revealed as another act. He was laughing hard at Batman's furrowed brow, the outline of which showed through the mask.

They prepared themselves and jumped towards one another, meeting in the middle and clashing above the flowing river. Batman's firm and swift gut-strike was avoided, but Joker's chop to the neck was not, though the padding in his cowl took off the edge of the attack.

It was odd and rare for Joker to get in a hit like that. They landed on the opposite sides and faced down one another again. Joker's grin had only gotten wider as the fight progressed. They leaped at one another again, but a stream of water shot up from the river to catch The Joker as Batman drew nearer.

Joker's legs were trapped inside the water vortex and Batman landed a decisive punch that made Joker flip several times in the air as he fell down. The clown's body sank into the river's abyss as it hit the surface.

It was actually a fairly deep river, and Batman had already begun forming seals to bring Joker with a water jutsu, but the clown beat him to it. A pillar of stone from the river floor, somewhere deep below, lifted Joker up and into the air. He inhaled with the spirit of a voracious man and watched Batman observe from the water below.

"Here," Joker told his foe, "this one's on _you!_" He did a handstand and flipped back so that his foot landed on the side of the pillar. He kicked it fiercely with his other foot and a section of the rock pillar went flying at Batman, who was able to avoid the attack with relative ease.

Joker landed on the water with a slight limp; it seemed that even here physical strength and brute force were not his forte. Still, unlike Gotham, Joker was able to pull off a couple of good physical attacks without any tricks or tools on his side. Every time they faced the madman only got better.

The rock pillar sank back into the depths as Batman rushed his foe again. Their figures met beside the still descending pillar and Batman let a batarang fly to put Joker off guard, allowing him a swift and strong shot in Joker's chest.

The chest, followed by the rest of the body, turned to stone as Batman's impact ran through it and the real Joker sprung up from the top of the pillar; he jumped down and put a deep, long cut down Batman's back as the pillar was finally submerged.

"Remember, I'm always a stone's throw away!" Joker taunted, but soon frowned as the figure of Batman dissipated into water.

"Damn," Joker cursed as Batman sprang up from the water behind Joker and kicked him into the wall of rock that bordered the river. The force that propelled his body caused the stone to weaken and crack as he impacted, and he spit up bloody saliva upon striking it.

Batman rushed forward and flickered over to Joker's left side, taking him by surprise and getting a sequence of brutal shots in on the clown. After the last jab to Joker's ribs, Batman seized his foe's wrist and bent it backwards. A snap and howl of deep pleasure, sprinkled with pain, erupted.

A final chop to Joker's shoulder put the Akatsuki's green haired psychopath off his feet.

"This ends," Batman growled, "Now."

"No, not yet," Joker replied matter-of-factly, "But I've gotta say, it's great to have you back!"

"I can't say the same, so I'll let my fist say it for me."

Batman's arm pulled back and his muscles tensed in preparation, but he felt a searing pain running through his entire body before he let it go; in seconds he was on his hands and knees beside Joker.

"I told you it wasn't over yet," Joker chuckled.

"What did you do?" Batman wondered as what felt like napalm ran through his veins and his muscles went so numb he thought they had been removed.

"I admit, a chemist is a man alone in this world, but he is a man with many options. Took me over a year to brew up that pretty poison."

"The gases…"

"World's greatest detective indeed!" Joker jeered, "That's right. When combined, they attack the nervous system and bring on quasi-paralysis. Making it a lot easier to do whatever I want with you. By the way, do you prefer a topside view?"

"Go to hell!"

"Certainly; after you!"

Batman was almost instantly caught in Joker's genjutsu, and everything except the pain went away. If his theory was correct, Joker utilized a fast acting, paralyzing genjutsu cast by sound, probably his voice. If he could block his ears, cut off his hearing temporarily, he could find a way to win. But in order to do that, he had to withstand whatever sick torture Joker's mind had concocted.

…

"Son of a-" Naruto was cut off when a clay bird flew at him with intense speed, and promptly exploded.

He flipped back out of the smoke cloud and landed in a sea of small, deformed clay creatures that were all connected to their opponent's hand. Kakashi was making quick work of them with his lightning blade, but their numbers were many and increasing as Deidara pumped more chakra into the jutsu.

Naruto attempted once again to get closer to the Akatsuki member and jumped over the many clay beasts, but Deidara's fail safe was already working as another clay bird from the sky above rocketed down in a suicide drop.

Naruto formed a shadow clone and sent it towards the bird in a suicidal dash of his own; they met and the force was enough to knock Naruto down several feet in front of Deidara. With his right hand preoccupied with Kakashi, and his left long gone, Deidara jumped around to avoid Naruto's straightforward but solid barrage of taijutsu attacks.

Kakashi pounced forward at the sight and tore through any clay beasts in his way; a firm strike with the lightning blade ripped Deidara in half, but a laugh from above as many birds rained down on them was the first indication of a clone jutsu at work. The real criminal continued to laugh in triumph from above as he threw down several more clay animals, in miniature form.

"Go!" Kakashi urged as the two scattered and retreated towards the river.

From the skies, Deidara pursued the duo, but ceased his attacks, knowing his chakra and detonating clay had limits. It didn't take long for Naruto to catch on, and he threw back several projectiles in a feeble counter-attack before Kakashi stopped him.

"Hold it!" He told his subordinate, "I have the perfect jutsu to take him out, we just have to evade him a little longer; the river is our best bet. I need you to be ready to cover me in case he begins to attack again."

"Alright," Naruto agreed and kept a peeled eye on their airborne enemy.

…

'_Hmm,'_ Deidara thought to himself, '_They're plotting something for sure, but with a few minutes of preparation, I'll have a plan ready for Kakashi...the jinchuuriki will be a problem though, I should try to regroup with one of the others...' _

…

Batman's mind slipped into Joker's trap as his body went limp and only stayed off its chest because Joker held it up with his good hand. Secluded and alone, no chance of interference, no stupid sidekicks to spoil his fun; he'd been waiting to do this for a long time.

…

True to his words, it seemed Batman had arrived in hell. Fires raged on all sides of him as he sank ever deeper into the Joker's genjutsu. He was standing on a catwalk, below him, pits of fiery inferno. Hot, possibly toxic gases filled the air around him and he was already coughing with agitation. The catwalk seemed to go on an infinite loop. Far in the distance, both in front of him and behind him, he saw a figure that appeared to be himself, making every action, however slight, that he was.

"Like looking in a twisted mirror, right?" Joker's voice rang through the dream-world.

With a flash of smoke and gas, the two figures that were supposedly himself to the front and back morphed into The Joker, the version that he had known so well back in Gotham. He was no longer in control of them or himself, and they walked forward in perfect sync and with giddy swagger while he couldn't move, no matter how hard he struggled.

"This is genjutsu, Joker, fake."

Batman was playing with a risky gambit, but his option was to buy time for himself. While part of him cringed to see Joker look slightly in awe and momentarily angry with the statement, another part of him was glad to know his idea was working.

"Fake, Shmake! Your ass is mine, Batman!" The two clowns replied as they chuckled and swung their right arms around in a circle a few times, as if preparing to fight.

He bit into his lip, well aware that drawing blood was a way of removing one's self from a genjutsu, but it was in vain. It seemed usual tactics had nary an effect on Gotham's worst nightmare, as usual.

"Oh no, don't try and leave so soon!" The Jokers cooed, "You seem awfully tense. I've got it! They say a nice, hot steam bath really does a number on the ol' stress levels. I'm a bit of an extremist, but let me know how this goes for ya, kay?"

The Jokers each grabbed an arm and flung Batman off the side of the catwalk and he fell into the lakes of raging fire below, screaming out, as it was the only thing he could do.

He felt his suit blacken and waste away in the scorching pits of flame. He heard every cackle as his skin burned and his hair was incinerated beneath the cowl. He yelled out with extreme pain, but all the while the lava filled his throat and burned him from the inside out as he sank into the destructive forces around him.

His feet were the first to go, followed shortly by his arms, then most of his head, and finally his chest sank as the suit was dissipated into ashes and nothingness by the flames until only the bat symbol remained unscathed, but even that lasted less than a second against Joker's wild inferno. Before he knew it, he was completely drowned in the fires and he felt as though he were dead. Part of him wished he was dead.

Then a blackness overcame the red and he couldn't feel anything or see or hear anything, and soon enough, he wondered if he was dead, or just in wait for another epidemic of Joker's twisted fun.

In any case, it was time to think, dwell on the severity of the situation and how to overcome it. He was immobilized, his mind was under siege from Joker's illusions, and he didn't know the status of his comrades.

Joker had a broken wrist, the upper hand, and a penchant for slaughter that didn't bode well for the Dark Knight. But the biggest issue was the genjutsu. It all tied into overcoming the illusions and pushing past the mental attacks. The problem lay in the adept nature of it.

Joker's genjutsu were top notch, roughly sharingan level. They couldn't be broken out of by normal means, and he theorized that time was distorted between the outside world and the illusion-world. That meant an ally was needed to pull him out, or he had to break his way out, if possible. One good token was that it actually was getting easier to think freely. He had no idea if he had a body anymore, in Joker's hellish world, but if he did, he might be able to begin using it.

"What are you," Joker asked suddenly,loudly, "trying to sell me short? I can see your thoughts, hear the grim voice in your stupid little pinhead. I'm a god here!"

He found his voice, and used it, though he suspected it was only because of The Joker's approval of such a thing, "Maybe, but when I break free-"

"You'll still be paralyzed! I win, Batsy! As always I am the superior! But don't fret, I won't kill you yet; too much fun to be had."

"..."

"No witty comeback? Typical!" Joker chided, "Urgh, and just when you think you're all set to go another round, company rears its ugly head. Well, I don't want you studying me up too much anyways; time to get back to reality! Which way is that again…?"

Instantaneously, Batman found himself back on the river, Joker's good hand around Batman's throat. He felt the burning sensation in his body return, and it was amplified by Joker's mental attack; he had a few theories as to the sources of Joker's uncanny powers, but that would have to come later.

"Joker!" Deidara called out from above.

Several shuriken shot down like bullets at the clown, who let his nemesis go and hopped up along the wall onto the rock ledge above, where Deidara's clay bird was waiting.

"Heh," the blonde Akatsuki mocked, "what is it with these people and going for the arms anyways?"

"Easier to hold you down," Joker answered informatively, "easier to have your way with your opponent. I prefer a good cheap shot to the eye or the crotch myself, but hey, to each their own!"

"You don't seem too upset about it," Deidara replied.

"You should see the other guy," Joker said and pointed down to where Naruto had picked up Batman and was about to haul him off to the opposite ledge where Kakashi sat, staring with one eye open at the Akatsuki members.

Deidara smiled in reply.

"Hey," Naruto asked as Batman struggled to awaken both body and mind from Joker's attack, "what happened?"

"Joker...genjutsu...keep your guard up…"

"Naruto!" Kakashi notified his student as their enemies shifted.

Deidara jumped off the clay bird and it reverted to miniature size, fitting nicely in his palm. Joker's face went cross for a second as he realigned his bones with a grunt, which played out into the sounds of a clearing throat.

"You know we're at a huge disadvantage here, right?" Deidara asked discreetly.

"Speak for yourself," Joker told his fellow criminal with a wide grin.

"We have limited attack and defense power and we're outnumbered, I hope you have a plan," Deidara reiterated as they got close to the edge of the cliff.

"Oh, I do," Joker assured, and cracked his neck before inhaling deeply, "I'm gonna send them to hell."

Batman could do little more than grimace at the thought of Joker's plan. He wasn't close to recovering from the blow, and his allies were in serious danger, even if they did have the advantage on paper.


End file.
